Posted February 17, 2006 http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=10400 "Sony hoped that the ability of its portable gaming system, PSP, to play movies would be a big draw to the console and help turn the PSP into a iPod-like must-have. So far that logic has been flawed. Sales across the board have been way below expectations, though backers say comedies like NAPOLEON DYNAMITE and "Chappelle's Show" have sold well. Piracy also seems to be an issue with hackers finding ways to rip DVDs on the PSP memory stick to circumvent having to buy them outright. As a result a number of studios are pulling PSP titles from the market including Warner Bros. who dropped plans for six upcoming titles including GOODFELLAS. Paramount also said they have no plans to release any new PSP titles in the coming months. All this comes as retailers are taking prime shelf space away from PSP titles as growth has stalled. Sony, not looking to give up yet, has said it will begin to bundle DVD and PSP titles together and will introduce a new adapter that will allow users to connect their PSP to their TV and watch movies on the big screen. Sony is also cutting back on PSP titles until they can figure out a way to make the format work." Not really surprised, might have been more successful if they cost less than regular DVDs. Why would someone buy a wire to play a PSP movie on their TV, surely the quality wouldn't be as good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 17, 2006 Personally, I'm not surprised by this news. Hardly anyone buys these UMD films and I'm shocked at how many shops actually stock them. Whats the point of the public buying these films when they can purchase a proper full blown DVD with special features and extras for almost the same price?? The only thing they are paying money for is the novelty to see them on the PSP. And most people (hopefully) are not dumb enough to realise that they can just put a film on the memory stick just as easily as purchasing a UMD. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 17, 2006 (...)[sony]will begin to bundle DVD and PSP titles together and will introduce a new adapter that will allow users to connect their PSP to their TV and watch movies on the big screen. They should've done that at launch, instead of keeping it from linking-up to a telly... anyway who cares, as far as I know Sony is selling a portable gaming console, I couldn't care less about the films. Even if I cared, I could Backup/Rip/Re-encode my better quality DVD's and tone them down for PSP... It's quite hypocrital to say DVD's are crap and obsolete @ 640x480 w/ Progressive Scan in a attemp to promote their Bluray standard at 1920x1080p (that most TV's can't output), but at the same time releasing a new format with 480x272 non progressive... worser than DVD and about as pricey. UMD movies shouldn't exist in the first place, I hope Sony burns herself on this one, who knows... It might prepare them for Bluray... and maybe get them on track for selling game machines above the multimedia share. This is true particulary in PSP, because PS2 for example has a DVD reader, that's standard in home entertainment, so it's natural to read DVD's... it's not like something imposed to us a proprietary format, buy the console and buy videos for it who won't play in any other machine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 17, 2006 £20 for a UMD can buy me three DVDs on sale. Usually said UMD title would be included in said DVD selection, rendering UMD a big waste of time. There's also the piracy thing, too. Ahoy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 17, 2006 I never saw the point in the whole UMD movie thing, bringing out a film on a device which only works for one system limits the market it a massive way. Who would actually want to buy one, i mean there not cheap, and the battery life isn't very good on the psp. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 17, 2006 This will show Sony, the've "lost" (Betamax, DVD+ [DVD+ and DVD- were both adopted, but DVD- is far more wide spread.] and now UMD!) three times now. Why don't they just give up pushing their own formats? Bluray is next... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 17, 2006 If the UMD movies were actually cheaper than DVDs, then it might have been more successful. But they were actually more expensive. Also, you can only use the UMDs on the PSP. Another factor is that it is much, much easier to find a title on DVD than on UMD. So, not only has the buyer got a limited selection of UMD movies to choose from, he or she also has to pay more. To top it off, he or she can only play these movies on the PSP. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 17, 2006 This will show Sony, the've "lost" (Betamax, DVD+ [DVD+ and DVD- were both adopted, but DVD- is far more wide spread.] and now UMD!) three times now. Why don't they just give up pushing their own formats? Bluray is next... I'm not against DVD+, as it's wasn't made only by Sony and is good for us consumers, as it doesn't pay any fees to DVD forum, sure the prices are the same, but they are more reliable to store computer files (in my opinion) a step down at all, they go against the fees from DVD forum, what I'm not willing is to stop paying those fees to DVD forum and pay them to Sony for Bluray royalties. If Sony came up with HD-DVD who is cost-effective only needing a upgrade to the existing DVD factories while not having a scheme for royalties... I'd be all for it. VHS versus Betamax should have emerged with betamax victorious, after all it was the last wave of analog/magnetic technology for video playback and lasted for 20 years, while VHS always had crappy image... Now for HD-DVD and Bluray... they are both products to hold the market till a new format comes around, and those will require new factories again, why waste that money just because Sony wants some royalties? do we really need to waste that ammount every 5 years? you could also mention the minidisc and memory stick in that list UMD is a big stepdown, but luckily for consumers... also a mistep, as they can just rip their DVD's into PSP on a memorystick (still a proprietary format, but...) so there's no real reason to buy a UMD movie... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 17, 2006 This will show Sony, the've "lost" (Betamax, DVD+ [DVD+ and DVD- were both adopted, but DVD- is far more wide spread.] and now UMD!) three times now. Why don't they just give up pushing their own formats? Bluray is next... *enters fanboy mode* The fall of Sony begins Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 17, 2006 Man, that sucks, I just loved to watch movies on a small screen with mediocre sound while I was on the bus to school. Oh and those great moments where the battery died in the middle of the movie, they were so heart warming. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 17, 2006 VHS versus Betamax should have emerged with betamax victorious, after all it was the last wave of analog/magnetic technology for video playback and lasted for 20 years, while VHS always had crappy image... Well as the story goes, the format with more porn wins. Its why VHS won out. Plus MiniDiscs are kinda a failure. They're still trotting on but a bit outdated now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 17, 2006 Well as the story goes, the format with more porn wins. Its why VHS won out. Plus MiniDiscs are kinda a failure. They're still trotting on but a bit outdated now. yeah, I knew that (maybe that's why PSP released some porn UMD's, with Sony PR's saying they didn't want it to be released but was out of their control, yeah right) And to be honest... I think Bluray is already getting that kind of support, i'd say (although i'm not really into it) that bluray might very well win against HD-DVD, it's just that's a big stepdown in my opinion, I can't possibly root for it, I hope I'm mistaken though. But... Coming from Sony I don't think it can win in every single field though (even if it wins in home cinema, I'm seeing the PC market going for HD-DVD or other format (just like in DVD- they went to DVD+) because it's so much cheaper. If that happens that way it might not be so bad, or rather... not as bad... anyway. In my point of view minidiscs had the same problem UMD's have, they are proprietary and can't be found in any other machine, why investing in a multimedia device like that? if it's a game machine with a proprietary media storage is a diferent thing, of course. There's nothing wrong with using UMD's for PSP games. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 17, 2006 An add-on designed for a failed idea is gonna fail harder. Didnt they learn anything from Sega or Nintendo? I hope this teaches Sony the other lesson too, adding $10-$15 dollars to the accepted price of software will get you nowhere. No matter how cheap they manage to launch the PS3 for, average people are going to resent paying $60-$70 dollars for a game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 17, 2006 No matter how cheap they manage to launch the PS3 for, average people are going to resent paying $60-$70 dollars for a game. Dude, here's a little secret. People resent paying for ANYTHING. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 17, 2006 Are we looking at a possible mini-disc size flop? If so...LAWL : peace: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 18, 2006 I hope HD-DVD wins the next round but who knows. If sony sell PS3's like they've been selling PS2's then it could be very hard for HD DVD to pick up sales. I for one would be going for HD-DVD because it's cheaper. I don't care that Blue- Ray can hold so much data it can own you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
